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US stocks rallied on Friday, fueled by a strong jobs report and signs of easing US-China trade tensions that boosted investor confidence. The S&P 500 rose nearly 1.5%, marking its ninth straight gain and its longest winning streak in two decades. The Dow Jones surged 563 points, also extending its rally to a ninth consecutive session, while the Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.5%.   

April’s non-farm payrolls rose by 177,000, beating expectations and reinforcing optimism about the labor market despite ongoing tariff uncertainty. Sentiment was further supported by Beijing’s openness to renewed trade talks, contingent on the US reducing tariffs.   

However, earnings results remained mixed—Apple shares slipped 3.7% after warning of a $900 million tariff hit, while Amazon edged lower by 0.1% after cautious guidance. Exxon Mobil rose 0.4% and Chevron advanced 1.7% after posting their results. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 2.3%, the Dow added 2.5%, and the Nasdaq jumped 2.7%. The week was part of a now 9-day straight rally in the S&P 500 that marks the longest winning streak since 2004. It was largely the Magnificent 7 (Mag 7) that drove the markets. Momentum, Growth, and the Mag 7 are back after a sustained period where Quality, Low Vol, and Defensive predominated.  

On after-market closing on Thursday, both Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. reported. And the results, or messaging at least, could not have been more different to Microsoft and Meta. Both Amazon and Apple’s quarterly earnings were affected by tariff and trade policies, with Amazon citing “recessionary fears” and “global economic and geopolitical conditions” in its forecast. 

Quarterly earnings from both Amazon and Apple put on full display how the trade wars threaten the bottom line of even big tech companies — at least those in the business of selling physical things. The iPhone maker warned investors on Thursday that tariffs will increase its costs by $900 million in this quarter. In a potential foreshadowing of what’s to come: Apple’s sales in China missed investor expectations. In contrast, the results of Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc. all demonstrated that, for now, it’s business as usual when selling digital goods like software advertisements and cloud computing services.  

The big difference: Import taxes don’t apply to installations of Microsoft Word or YouTube ads the same way they do to a new coffee maker bought on Amazon. Plus, the primary customers for software and cloud computing are businesses, which don’t get spooked as quickly as consumers. On Friday, Amazon shares were down 1%. Apple tanked 4% and we saw some downgrades on Friday as well (the earnings call left analysts unsure of what’s going on beyond 2Q). 

Finally, the US cross-stock correlation is currently 0.6, the highest-level during earnings season since 2011. That is, the Macro is dominating the Micro. Not surprising given all the tariff noise. 

Overview of the Australian Market 

The S&P/ASX 200 Index surged 1.13% to close at 8,238 on Friday, rising for the seventh straight session to its highest levels in almost two months. The rally was driven by optimism over global trade, after China signalled willingness to engage in talks with the US, following multiple outreach efforts from Washington. US President Donald Trump also hinted at potential trade deals with India, Japan, and South Korea, and expressed optimism about a resolution with China.   

Domestically, retail sales rose 0.3% in March, slightly below market expectations of 0.4%, reinforcing speculation of a near-term rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia.  

Broad-based gains lifted the index, with standout performances from major names including Commonwealth Bank (+1.4%), ANZ Group (+2.2%), CSL Ltd (+2.1%), Woolworths Group (+2%), and Evolution Mining (+2.6%).